Well, first things first: This is a compilation of material, namely of the humongous numbers of lists Creighton Broadhurst regularly posts on his blog; so yes, technically, the material can be found for free. At the same time OMG, get this!

Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. At this point, it most assuredly should be no secret that I consider Raging Swan ‘s dressing files among the most useful books I own; heck, the Dungeon and Wilderness Dressing compilations are my most often used books. I pull them out more often than pretty much any rule-book. Yeah.

If you do not own them yet, get them asap! They made first place in my Top Ten for a reason…I’ll be waiting here.

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Okay, so, once you have digested them (perhaps with the “I loot the Body!”-compilation as well), you’ll notice that the respective entries, while anything but generic, obviously need to cater to relatively broad concepts, right? Well, this is basically where the first massive compilation and this, its sequel come in. They provide the specific tables to complement the more general ones. You know, for those cases, where you don’t need compelling dressing for a minion’s loot…but instead for a lich’s phylactery or lair.

Or for when you need a quirky item that begins to throb when bad weather’s approaching. When you need a minor drawback for an item; when you need a remarkable unholy symbol…or key…or dagger….or, or, or. Treasure that’s difficult to remove from a dungeon? Check. Sample personalities for cultists? Check. More specific looting tables? Check.

But why part with your hard-earned dough when all of this is available for free on the internet? Well, beyond rewarding the creator, there is a more pragmatic reason, namely organization. Sure, it’s nice to have the articles online, right? Well, open the pdf and you’ll see the respective tables grouped by environment: Dungeon, Urban, Wilderness. That alone makes the compilation already superior to the disparate articles – it makes the process of using this more simple.

There is a second organizational paradigm that sets this apart from its constituent articles and files – and that would be the inclusion of related articles: Did you just roll on a table that noted things left behind in an inn’s bedchamber? Great, then one look at “related articles” will tell you where to find ideas for patrons and staff, with the corresponding page-numbers! This makes use in print extremely comfortable, though in the electronic version, internal hyperlinks would have been nice to jump to and fro.

Still, once you took a look at 20 things to find at an abandoned campsite, you will want to check out 10 things that lurks in the shadows…or 10 travelers to share the campsite – either choice makes the journey more organic, more alive…and ultimately, this elevates the compilation in usefulness far above any constituent files or articles and well worth the more than fair asking price – particularly regarding the print version.

One note: If you’re an OSR-purist, you may be annoyed by some entries mentioning “rogues” or “wizards” instead of “thieves” or “magic-users”, but this cosmetic complaint is pretty much the only potentially negative thing I can say about this book and its inspiring dressing-tables.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no serious hiccups. Layout adheres to Raging Swan Press’s two-column b/w-standard and is just as printer-friendly and elegant as you’d expect it to be. The pdf-version, just fyi, comes with nested, detailed bookmarks in two iterations: One for screen-use and one to be printed out. The b/w-artworks featured herein are nice, though fans of Raging Swan Press will encounter some déjà-vus. Ultimately, I’d strongly suggest getting this in print, at least if you’re old-school like me and prefer GMing with actual books – a physical artifact emphasizes how easy to use this book is and makes me whip it out more often. That being said, tablet-using Gms will obviously get just as much mileage out of this one.

Creighton Broadhurst, with additional design by master of the creepy John Bennett, Ron Calbick, Seamus Conneely, Kalyna Conrad, Taylor Hubler, Jeff Gomez, Anthony Jennings, Alex Riggs, John Schut, Amber Underwood, Josh Vogt and Mike Welham, has managed to once again make a wonderful, inspiring book; against all odds, the inspiring tables retain the extremely high standards set by the previous dressing-compilations. Furthermore, the fine-tuning in the organizational details and the cool related table-notes render this compilation better than the sum of its parts.

No matter the system you’re playing, whether it’s PFRPG, 5e, one of the OSR-rulesets or DCC – changes are that this pdf will improve your GMing prowess and, ultimately, your game. This is a great resource, very much recommended – and hence, my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval. And yes, this is a candidate for my Top Ten of 2017.